Fluid seal construction



DCC- 14, 1954 R. K. WILSON ET Al. 2,696,967

FLUID SEAL CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 22, 1953 HTToR/VEY.

United States Patent O RobertK. Wilsontand Eugene'M. Stoner, Los.Angeles Calif.

Application SeptemberZZ, 1953, VSerial No. 381,702

:'Claims-.- (C1. 251-474) rLhisinvention relates to auidlseal construction of th e type 'utilized'.tolseallvalve surfaces, rotary shafts, and simllar elements, against leakage of uid .therepast In recent .times the problem 1of sealing valves and ro- .tary shaftsexposedto the. deteriorating action of aromatic .fuels has become. an. extremely serious one since mostcon- .ventionalsealing materials, such as rubber and neoprene, Awill. not resist the action. of the aromatic fuels and thus quickly. l'ose their...res`ilience and their ability to Vpresentan adequatefseal; after relatively short periods of exposure to :aromaticV fuels. i

However, this problem has been-recently solved. by the provision. of sealsincorporating `resilient .sealing elements .constitutedtby such. thermoplastic materials as tetrafluoroethylene,.polymenv-commercially known vunder the vtrademarl@v Teflon, -and a polyamide resin, commercially Aknown-under the trade-mark lnylon However, while resilienLsealing elements` formed'from lthe aforementioned thermoplastic.. materials, are highly resistantv to the deteriorating effect of aromatic fuels, they are possessed of certain physical, vcharacteristics whichpose seriousproblems inmaintaininguniformsealingcontactbetween the sealing :elements and ,portionsof a.ho11singor device in which the sealingelements, are incorporated,v This is particularly 4true in. the. case. of tetraluoroethylene polymer which has .a .coeflicient^ off, expansionr approximately three times that .offaluminum,.,creating serions How and mounting problemsparticularly.in aluminum housings, which have, prior .to thednventionofthe. li'uid seal construction of our invention., resulted. Vin, .limited applications` .of -tetrafluoro- .ethylene polymerfor.,usein'sealing elements.

For,instancelet,itfbe supposed that a sealing element formedlfromA tetrafluoroethylene polymer is mounted in a housing. between two adjacent surfaces. The compressive forces on the portion ofthe sealingelement between the adjacent surfaces causes an initial set inV said portion. Heat cycling, augments the tendency of the material to set. elementineffective for maintaining the element in sealing relationwith'said adjacent surfaces. Thiscondition isag- ,-gravated'. by differential.expansionbetween the seal and the adjacentsurfaces. In addition, our invention can cope with .setting..due to. chemical' action. When' such set oc- .cursj, the, rpor tion of the, sealing lelement disposed between Kthe` aforementioned Aadjacent surfaces shrinks away from said. surfaces .or other `portions of. the housingin which said, element. is located.A When the temperature of the fluidreturnstonormal', the sealing element` returns to approximately its original'sizebut the portion of the sealing elementdisposed. between vsaid surfaces will not entirely reass-ume its originaLconguration, and leakage between .said surfacesv and said portion of'said sealingv element becomes possible.

Itis, therefore, an object of our. invention to provide a seal. construction for lincorporation in' a fluid-containing housing, which includes a resilientH sealing element .subject .tosettingand expansion by heat'cyclingvdue tovarious causes, saidconstruction also includingua sealing element retainerwhich is designed Lto retain saidsealingelement in juxtaposition to an adjacentsurface' inv said housing, said retainerincludingan integral, resilient portionengageable withgsaid Vsealing element to .maintain said" sealirtgelement in operative relation with `said adjacent'` surface ins said housing` despite said settingpor-expansion ofi-said sealing element.

Another object of our invention'- is'the' '.provisinninV a sealconstruction of the aforementioned .typeo'ffa'retainer The setrendersthe initial pressure on thesealing' for .the sealing. element ofthe construction which ism'ovable in its. associatedA housingfbetween. `a first. position in Whichthe aforesaid.resilientportion ofthe retainer merely .supportsaportion vof the: sealing element inoperative relation` with .the adjacent surface ofthe housing, and asecond position iny which saidlresilient'portion fof the retainer is deliected in 4a direction-away from said surface to bias said resilientport'ion .more securely against' .said portion of the sealing element. disposed between saidresilient portion of theretain'er andthe 'adjacent surface ofthe housing.

B-y the provision Aof a structure vof the aforementioned .character inA our seal. construction, the expansion or setting :of thesealing element is accommodated since, when such expansion or sett-ing. takes place, deiiection of the resilient portionof the retainer ,inl either direction-occurs to accommodatethe change in s-izevofthe portion ofthe-sealing element .betweenrthe resilient portion of the retainer and the adjacent surface of the housing. Furthermore, yif the :sealing element does .not return to its approximate original 4size and configurationwhen it returns to its normaly temperature, ythel resilient portion of the retainer accommodates Vany inequalities resulting in that portionof the sealing element lyingbetween thev resilient portion of the retainer and the adjacent surface of the housing. In this manner the vapplication -of the principles of our invention overcomes inherent -disadvantages previously encountered in theuseof materialsotherwise admirably suited by their inherent qualities for sealing applications involving exposure to aromatic fuels.

Another object of our. invention is the provision of a seal constructionof the aforementioned lcharacter in which the resilient' portion of thercta-iner includes a receptacle for receivingspning means-.to bias lthe sealingelemcnt -of the constructioninto engagement with an adjacent surface to be sealed. v

vA` further object. of our. inventionisthe provision of a seal construction including aminirnum number ofparts whichy can bey easily and. quickly assembled in operative position in association with aV surfacey to be sealed and which can beas readily disassembled .to permit the replacement of .componentportions thereof.

Other objectsand'advantages of our invention will be apparentv from the following specilicationzand the accompanying :drawing which is for the purpose vof illustration only `andin which.:

Fig;.1 is-.a vertical,,sectionalview of a seal construction ofi-ourinvention incorporated. .in .a housing for a slide va veg,

Eig. 2. is..a.ve11tical, sectionalview of an embodiment of; our invention. with the `retainer thereofdisposed in the rst: position;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, sectional View of the embodiment of Eig. .2 showing. the retainen disposed'inthe aforementioned section positiong/and' Fig. 4 isa vertical, sectionalview. of an alternative embodiment of the uid seal construction of our invention.

Referring to the drawing.andparticularly to Figs. land 2. thereof, we vshow agate valveV 10, said gate. valve including a'housing y1.2. providedwith .an inlet rpassage 13' and :an-outlet passage 15 communicating with a Huid-passage 1f7- in the interior of .thehousing 12. The gate valve 10 includes a slide valve 18 which can be retracted from or extended across the'uid vpassage 1=7 by tmeans-of anactuator 20v secured to an edge thereof. Although the seal construction of! our inventionwill be described as utilized inconjunctionwithagate valve 10. of. conventional construction, it is obviousfof course,l that the. principles of our invention can be applied with .equally good results to valves ofl different constructionfrom that shownV in Figs. l-3 ofthe drawing.

T-he housing 12'is provided withaflat, annular shoulder 23 whichis juxtaposed tothe slidevalve 18 andwhich is adapted to serve as-a seatV for a resilient sealing element 26', preferably formedV of Teflon (tetrailuo'roethylene polymer)v or` nylon (polyamide resin), which has' a peripheral, flat, annularp'ortion 2T- se'atedon-the shoulder'23 and a centrally located, axially extending annular lip or beadi29engageable with an adjacentsurfaceof the slide valve 18 in' the manner shown in Fig. 3" ofthe drawing.

The sealing element 26 constitutes a portion of the seal construction indicated generally at 30, said construction including a retainer 32 whose threaded periphery is engageable with a threaded bore 33 adjacent the shoulder 23 in the housing 12. The retainer 32 is provided with a centrally located passage 35 to permit flow of fluid therethrough and includes an integral resilient portion indicated generally at 37, said resilient portion being defined by a deep radial groove 41 formed in the retainer 32 and including a radially extending annular wall 43 and an axially extending annular wall formed integrally therewith. The walls 43 and 45 define a receptacle 47 in the resilient portion 37, said receptacle being designed to receive a pair of superimposed, oppositely oriented Belleville spring washers Sti which bias the annular bead 29 of the sealing element 26 into engagement with the adjacent surface of the slide valve 18 when it is disposed in closed position, shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

The retainer 32 of the seal construction 36 is movable from a first position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing wherein the free edge of the annular wall 45 of the resilient portion 37 of the retainer engages the adjacent portion of the sealing element 26 and the annular wall 43 of said resilient portion is disposed in sustantial parallelism with the adjacent surface of the shoulder 23 of the housing 12. in other words, in the first position the retainer serves merely to support the sealing element 26 on the shoulder 23.

After the accurate location of the sealing element 26 on the shoulder 23 is accomplished by the location of the retainer 32 in the first position, said retainer is then rotated in the bore 33 to carry it into its second position wherein the resi ient portion 37, and more particularly the annular wall 43, is deiiected in a direction away from the adjacent portion of the sealing element 26 and the adjacent surface of the shoulder 23 to dispose it in a plane which is angularly oriented with respect to the planes of the portion 27 of the sealing element 26 and the surface of the shoulder 23.

When the retainer 32 is thus moved into and located in the second position, the resultant deflection of the resilient portion 32 of said retainer causes considerable bias of the free edge of the wall 45 against the portion 27 of the sealing element 26 engaged thereby. Therefore, when heat cycling of the fluid flowing through the fluid passage 17 causes expansion or setting of the sealing element 26, the wall 45 can deflect in appropriate directions because of the resilient securement of the portion 37 to the body of the retainer 32 thus permitting the portion 27 of the sealing element 26 to expand.

Furthermore, when heat cycling of the uid reduces the temperature of the fluid and the sealing element 26 returns to approximately its original size and configuration. if any irregularities exist in the portion 27 of the sealing element 26 between the free edge of the Wall 45 and the adjacent surface of the shoulder 23, they will be compensated for by the bias of the resilient portion 37 of the retainer 32 into engagement with the portion 27 of the seal 26, thus preventing leakage of fluid past the portion 27 of the element 26.

Therefore, it will be noted that the provision of the seal construction of our invention accomplishes two major functions in that it permits the expansion of the sealing element 26 and compensates for any irregularities in said sealing element after it has returned to its unexpanded state.

in addition, since the resilient portion 37 of the retainer 32 maintains an effective seal on the surface of the shoulder 23, it is unnecessary to provide supplemental gasket means to prevent leakage past the thread on the retainer 32 when the retainer is located in an exposed location on the housing.

It should also be noted, from a study of Fig. 3 of the drawing, how the Belleville spring washers 59 located in the receptacle 47 of the resilient portion 37 of the retainer 32 are deected into closer contiguity to each other when the slide valve 18 is extended to close the fluid passage 17. Therefore, the Belleville washers 50 serve to maintain the annular bead 29 in continuous engagement with the adjacent surface of the slide valve 18.

It is worthy of note at this juncture that the provision of a seal construction in accordance with our invention also eliminates possible distortion in the component portions of the housing 12 or binding on the valve 18 occasioned by undue expansion of the sealing element lll 26 which, in prior are devices or constructions, has resulted in permanent injury to the housings and irremediable leakage therefrom. f

An alternative embodiment of our invention is disclosed in Fig. 4 of the drawing, said embodiment being exemplified in a seal construction 52 designed to be utilized in sealing a rotary shaft 54 disposed in a housing 56. The rotary shaft 54 is provided with an annular shoulder 57 which is disposed in a bore 59 in the housing 56, said bore being exposed to liuid within the housing. Formed integrally with the housing 56 is a shoulder 61, said shoulder having an outer portion 63 of a at, annular, resilient sealing clement 64 disposed thereupon. The inner portion 65 of said sealing element 64 engages the shoulder 57 of the shaft 54 to prevent leakage of fluid therepast.

The sealing element 64 constitutes a portion of the seal construction 52 and is maintained in operative relation with the shoulder 61 by means of a retainer or gland nut 66 which also constitutes a component of the seal construction 52. The retainer 66 is provided with a centrally located bore 67 through which extends a shaft extension 69, said retainer also including an integral resilient portion indicated generally at 71 and being defined by a radial groove 73 in the body of the retainer 66. Formed in the resilient portion 71 of the retainer 66 is a receptacle 74 for Belleville spring washers 75, one of which engages the inner portion of the sealing element 64 to bias it into sealing Contact with the adjacent shoulder 57 on the shaft 54.

When the retainer 66 is moved into the second position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, the resilient portion 71 of the retainer 66 is deected in the same manner as the resilient portion 37 of the retainer 32 in the previously described embodiment of our invention to maintain a positive sealing relation between the resilient portion 71 of the retainer 66 and the portion 63 of the sealing element 64.

It is, therefore, apparent that by the provision of a uid seal construction manufactured in accordance with our invention, we eliminate the previously encountered disadvantages inherent in the utilization of Teon and Nylon sealing elements in seal constructions. By providing retainer means for the sealing elements having integral resilient portions engageable therewith, we permit both the expansion of the sealing elements when exposed to high ambient temperatures and also accommodate for any irregularities in said sealing elements resulting from the previous expansion thereof. In addition, we eliminate the necessity for frequent dismantling of the devices in which the seal constructions are embodied because the lives of both the housing and the seal construction are materially prolonged.

We claim as our invention:

l. ln a seal construction, the combination of: a housing, said housing incorporating a fluid passage and having a sealing element seat encompassing said passage; a movable member disposed in said passage and having a portion contiguous to said seat; a sealing element supported on said seat and engageable with said portion of said movable member to seal said passage against leakage of tiuid past said movable member; and a sealing element retainer secured in said housing adjacent said seat7 said retainer being substantially cylindrical and having a radial groove therein to provide an integral, resilient portion thereupon engageable with said element for biasing said element into engagement with said seat.

2. In a seal construction, the combination of: a housing, said housing incorporating a uid passage and having a sealing element seat encompassing said passage; a movable member disposed in said passage and having a portion contiguous to said seat; a sealing element supported on said seat and engageable with said portion of said movable member to seal said passage against leakage of fluid past said movable member; a sealing element retainer secured in said housing adjacent said seat, said retainer being substantially cylindrical and having a radial groove therein to provide an integral, resilient portion thereupon engageable with said element for biasing said element into engagement with said seat, said resilient portion providing a receptacle therein; and spring means in said receptacle for urging said element into engagement. with said movable member.

3. In a seal construction, the combination of: a housing having a fluid passage therein and a sealing element seat encompassing said passage; a slide valve in said housing movable across said passage in contiguity to said seat; a sealing element supported on said seat for engagement with said Valve to seal said passage against tluid leakage past said valve; a sealing element retainer secured in said housing, said retainer having a resilient portion engageable with said sealing element to bias said sealing element against said seat, said resilient portion having a receptacle therein; and spring means in said receptacle engageable with said sealing element for urging said sealing element against said valve.

4. In a seal construction, the combination of: a housing, said housing incorporating ,a iiuid passage and having a at, annular, sealing element seat encompassing said passage; a movable member disposed in said passage and having a portion contiguous to said seat; a sealing element having a flat, annular portion supported on said seat and engageable with said portion of said movable member to seal said passage against leakage of iiuid past said movable member; and a sealing element retainer secured in said housing, said retainer having an annular, resilient portion engageable with said iiat, annular portion of said element to bias said element into engagement with said seat.

5. In a seal construction, the combination of: a housing, said housing incorporating a iiuid passage and having a liat, annular, sealing element seat encompassing said passage; a movable member disposed in said passage and having a portion contiguous to said seat; a sealing element having a ilat, annular portion supported on said seat and engageable with said portion of said movable member-to seal said passage against leakage of uid past said movable member; a sealing element retainer secured in said housing, said retainer having an annular, resilient portion engageable with said flat, annular portion of said element to bias said element into engagement with said seat, said resilient portion having a receptacle therein; and spring means in said receptacle engageable with said sealing element to urge said sealing element against said portion of said member. v

6. ln a seal construction, the combination of: a housing having a fluid passage encompassed by a sealing element seat; a movable member disposed in said passage adjacent said seat; a sealing element supported on said seat having a portion engageable with said movable member; a retainer movable in said housing toward or' away from said seat, said retainer having a resilient portion engageable with said sealing element for retaining said sealing element on said seat and a spring receptacle in said resilient portion; and a spring in said receptacle for biasing said sealing element against said movable member.

7. In a seal construction, the combination of a housing having a fluid passage encompassed by a sealing element seat, said housing having a bore adjacent said seat; a movable member disposed in said passage adjacent said seat; a sealing element disposed on said seat and engaging said movable member; and a sealing element retainer threadedly engaged in said bore and having an integral resilient portion biased toward said seat, said retainer being movable between a first position at the outer end of said bore and a second position in which said resilient portion engages said sealing element and is deflected by contact with said element in a direction away from said seat.

8. In a seal construction, the combination of: a housing having a iluid passage encompassed by a sealing element seat, said housing having a bore adjacent said seat; a movable member disposed in said passage adjacent said seat; a sealing element disposed on said seat and engaging said movable member; a sealing element retainer threadedly engaged in said bore and having an integral resilient portion biased toward said seat, said retainer being movable between a lirst position at the outer end of said bore and a second position in which said resilient portion enn gages said sealing element and is deected by contact with said element in a direction away from said seat, said resilient portion having an annular receptacle therein; and a spring in said receptacle for biasing said element against said member.

9. In a seal construction, the combination of a housing having a iluid passage encompassed by a flat, annular, sealing element seat, said housing having a bore adjacent said seat; a movable member disposed in said passage adjacent said seat; a sealing element having a flat, annular, peripheral portion disposed on said seat and an inner portion engaging said movable member; a sealing element rel tainer threadedly engaged in said bore and having an integral resilient portion biased toward said seat, said retainer being movable between a iirst position at the outer end of said bore and a second position in which said resilient portion engages said sealing element and is deflected by contact with said element in a direction away from said seat, said resilient portion having an annular receptacle therein; and a spring in said receptacle for biasing said element against said member.

10. Ina seal construction, the combination of: a housing having a uid passage encompassed by a tlat, annular sealing element seat and a threaded bore adjacent said seat; a movable member adjacent said seat; a sealing element having a at, annular portion located on said seat and an inner portion engageable with said member; a sealing element retainer threadedly engageable with said bore and having an integral, resilient, annular portion which, when said retainer is fully threaded into said bore, engages said element and is deected in a direction-away from said seat, said resilient portion providing a receptacle therein; and a spring in said receptacle engaging said element.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,030,458 McKeller Feb. 1l, 1936 2,344,747 Sperry Mar. 21, 1944 2,404,816 Snyder July 30, 1946 2,480,529 Waag Aug. 30, 1949 

